Quote of the Day

From an interview with Alizé Cornet:

"Least favourite opponent

Anna Chakvetadze without a doubt. She put me down before our semi-final in Rome. She said that I was a good junior even though I was No30 in the world at the time. I was furious. And she doesn’t even say hello. She’s not a nice person."

I don't know who I love more know, Chaky for being a bitch or Alizé for telling about it. I'm having flashbacks to Anna's quote on the WTA Year End Championships: "All of the girls will be hard, even maybe Hantuchova" and her infamous Chak Attack at that Fed Cup tie with Israel earlier this year. After Alize's comments on Jelena Jankovic before the Rome final last week, I'm thinking Jankovic/Chakvetadze is not Alizé's favorite doubles team.

Not having internet can have positive consequences. I now have an 11 game winning streak on free cell and upped my winning percentage from under 20 to over 50%. Not as good as in my old laptop, but we'll get there.

Sometimes when my cousin is having a 30 minute crying jag, I play this game called " Who is smarter: My cousin or my dog?" And I swear, my dog wins every time.

Posting this from Border's, because I don't have internet access at the moment:

1.) My aunt insists New Jersey is the ugliest state in the Union and, after a day here, I am inclined to agree.
2.) I am sick as fuck and I am calling it a New Jersey allergy.
3.) Did I mention I have no internet? I am going crazy.

That is all.

Will you love me with love like a man loves a woman?

Or, How I am reliving my pre-teen years, part I.

So I know that I last wrote a mere 3 or so hours ago, but since my last entry I've stumbled upon the YouTube goldmine of Mexican soap episodes. I jumped on it, like a ten dollar hooker, or a fat kid on cake. I was addicted to these things when I was about 11 - 12 years old. I took them very very seriously. Now I watch..and Lele mocks me because I can't stop laughing. It's so hard not too. They take themselves so seriously.

Someone has been kind enough to upload clips of every single episode of "La Usurpadora" - not the whole episode, just ten minute clips of the eventful parts of every episode. I know I just complained about how sexist it was, but this way I get to skip around to the parts that I like. I watched clips of the last five episodes and the post-finale special.

• The dialogue in these things is so remarkably awful. I know, I know, it's a Mexican soap and it's supposed to be that way, but in one scene, when Carlos Daniel, in complete seriousness, tries to get Paulina back he says a line kind of like this: "You're a good woman, isn't that enough? Can't we love each other with love, like a man loves a woman?" Love each other with love?! How else is someone supposed to love? And furthermore, why aren't' these shows marketed as comedies? They say things like that and expect people to keep straight faces. I can't believe I took these so seriously when I was 12.
  
• Gabriela Spanic is really bad. Actually, she's really bad when it's a sad, dramatic moment which is like 99% of all the scenes Paulina is in. She's much better at happy scenes or scenes where she can show personality or be somewhat evil. But Paulina is a void of personality and happiness, and so are a lot of the characters I've seen her play. Still, why do I keep liking her so much?
• One of my favorite games to play when I watch these things - though I should really should make up some drinking games - is "Spot the Accent". Spanic is really bad about letting her Venezuelan accent slip out. Libertad Lamarque (RIP) mostly slips up with "y" sounds (Also, Abuela Piedad is totally one of the only likeable characters in this thing. Along with Patricia, Rodrigo's poor wife, but I digress). Juan Pablo Gamboa is not bad I think; but you can definitely tell he's Colombian.
• One for the shrinks: I only find Fernando Colunga hot when he's an asshole. When he's playing the hero, he's dead to me. This probably explains my luck with men.
• Everytime I hear the "Mas alla" inserted into the theme song for the special, I LOL.
• Does Chantal Andere ever play good characters? I like her. Though I hate how her mental illness is represented in the last episodes. Is a decent representation of the mentally ill too much to ask of a late 90s cheesy soap? ;) I'm glad she ends up relatively normal - and with better hair - in the end.

This stuff is crack, I tell you. I'm going to find episodes of "Por Tu Amor" (More Spanic, please. Nothing beats the last scene with the cross floating in the air), or "La Mentira" (tequila farming and spousal abuse) or "El Privilegio de Amar" (what didn't happen in this one? Tamara going crazy and shaving her head personal favorite). Aaaah, good times.

Forgot to mention...

1. I watched the live feed of Eurovision today and oh my god, CAMP GALORE! I could not stop laughing. Ukraine's Shady Lady was my favorite, closely followed by the Latvian pirates. Anything that involves singing pirates needs immediate watching, at least that is my theory. Portugal looked like Ursula the Sea Witch and I have no idea how that went through. Same for Georgia's Piss, I mean, Peace Will Come. I wonder if the singer was blind? I guess that made her fortunate enough to see how awfully she was dressed.

2. Roland Garros starts on Sunday and I am sooooooo excited! Ana and Rafa will conduct the draw tomorrow. Ana Ivanovic had her own segment on the Eurovision broadcast today, and she is so inhumanely gorgeous; it's just not fair. Can I look like her in my life? Anyway, back to tennis. My picks: EDIT: I had to take them out; because I'm afraid they won't win now. I'm a superstitious freak. I hope I didn't ruin it.

3. I leave for New Jersey tomorrow. Wooo, 10 hour drive, at least I have books.

Housing assignments and how my aunt and uncle probably think I have an eating disorder

I got my housing assignment today. My host "parent" (and I use the term loosely, because this person hardly seems like a parent by her description) is named Katja. She is a twenty-something student who enjoys jogging and the tango. She leaves in an apartment near a park and the building has a trolley (?) station in front. Another student will be living in that same building. She also has a cat, so I hope my allergies are okay.

She seems cool and a athletic and I hope that she doesn't mind if I join her for a jog, because I don't want to gain weight from the German pastries and beer. I think I've gained some weight already this summer. Usually, I lose weight without even trying over the summer because I go to Colombia and I could write page upon page on how unhealthy American eating habits are but I'll spare you the drivel. I love my aunt and uncle, and I think they are amazing, but honestly, meal times with them is a total pain.

Basically, my aunt and uncle serve huge portions that I am completely unable to eat (and most normal people shouldn't eat, either). My aunt will make a comment on how I eat like a bird and then I'll feel really guilty. My aunt and uncle are extremely religious, and believe that throwing any food away is a sin. However, I was never raised to believe that I had to eat everything on my plate - I was taught just to eat until I felt full and I'm honestly physically unable to eat more than that. I have a really sensitive stomach (just ask anyone I've been out drinking with, jaja) and I'm also lactose intolerant, so I'm really wary of eating too much because I get sick so easily. Anyway, my aunt will ask me how much spaghetti I want. "A scoop", I answer. "A scoop? Only that? Here, have a little more" and she scoops about twice as much as I am physically able to eat and inevitably asks surprised when I eat exactly half of my portion.

So with all these habits, I think I've given my aunt and uncle credible evidence to think I have an eating disorder:

1. They already think I don't eat enough.
2. I don't eat at regularly scheduled hours.
   
3. One of the signs of bulimia is that the bulimic often goes to the bathroom after finishing a meal (to throw up). I do the same thing...for totally different reasons. If you've ever lived with me, you'd know that I brush my teeth more often than anyone else I know. I'm extremely obsessive about dental hygiene. I can't stand the feel of dirty teeth or the taste of food in my mouth. My instinct to go brush my teeth kicks in before I've finished swallowing my last bite. It's that strong of a habit. Mock me if you must - but I've never had a cavity.
   

So anyway, I won't be surprised if they make awkward comments about it.

On a final note, I've been watching Mexican soap opera classic La Usurpadora on one of the Latin channels. This one has everything...evil twins, alcoholism, hot guys, Gaby Spanic's hysterical overacting even for a Mexican soap - it's ripe for a spoof on The Soup. I used to LOVE this soap back in the day. However, I've been really disturbed by the blatant sexism it spouts! It's not an uncommon trend in Mexican soaps or Latin TV in general, but it's really sullied my memory of it and I find it very hard to watch now. Wednesday's episode left a really bad taste in my mouth and I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it again.

I still love Gaby Spanic though.

Not yet in Berlin and other blabbity blab

The main purpose of this journal is to chronicle my study abroad experience in Berlin. The wise people at IES recommend that students keep a journal (even if you normally don't), so this is mine. I'd write, but, let's face it: I'm lazy and I'm a much faster typer than I am a writer. I am also an insane perfectionist and it's easier to delete stuff when it's typed.

Obviously, I'm not in Berlin yet. Currently, I'm in Hilliard, Ohio, staying at my uncle Julian and my aunt Lele's house, along with their totally adorable 16-month old, Samuel. I'd be at home in Barranquilla, but the German consulate had my passport, so I couldn't leave the country. My uncle is getting transferred to Jersey soon, so we'll be traveling there on Friday. Julian and I will be driving and my aunt and the baby will be flying, because you can't attach car seats to trucks or some other reason like that. This will be my third move in as many weeks - I packed up my entire room almost two weeks ago, flew here and now I'll be heading to New Jersey.

I got my visa on Friday but it's only for Germany and not a Schengen visa. So I don't know what I'm going to do about that. Supposedly I have to go to the Aliens Affairs office in Berlin and solve that issue. It's a big mess; I knew things were going too well lately.

I bought a new camera today - it's a Fujifilm Finepix Z20 and it is PINK! I was going to buy a Sony one originally, but the Finepix has more or less the same features, it was on sale and it has glass lenses instead of plastic. Oh and did I mention it's pink? :) I have to read the manual and try it out later (probably pics of Samuel!). I've also bought my textbook, a notebook, a money belt, a camera bag, a lock for luggage, a guidebook and phrasebook and some other stuff I can't think of at the moment. My uncle is lending me a backpack so I don't have to buy that (yay $$$ saved).

Before I leave, my aunt and I are practicing my driving skills. As those who know me will tell you, I don't have a car and the only time I drive is when I am home. I never really practiced driving much, so I'm a little rusty, but it's getting better. Hopefully by the end of the summer, I'll have a valid American driving license instead of an under-18 Colombian one. I'm terrified of highways; they make me nervous because Americans drive so fast. I also have a ridiculous fear of a.) stepping outside the lanes and b.) car accidents, so driving near huge trucks makes me nervous. I think for that particular reason driving a big car would make me feel more confident, but at the same time the whole "driving outside the lines" and the fact that I learned to drive on a small Mazda makes me feel a lot more comfortable in small car. Tickets make me nervous, police cars make me nervous, 18-wheelers make me nervous; it's a wonder I don't have an ulcer already. But I really need to do this, because I'm going to have to get a car in order to drive to my internship at Gilcrease next semester. I would really like a Honda Fit or Civic or a Toyota Yaris or Corolla, because they're so small and cute. I drove to Barnes and Noble yesterday and to Walmart and Outback today, and tomorrow I'm practicing parallel parking a.k.a my idea of hell.

I'm terrified of packing also. How am I supposed to live out of two suitcases for the next two months? For a week-long trip to Cartagena, I once packed 7 pairs of shoes. I honestly don't know how to pack light. Ack! I need to go through my makeup and sort what I actually need. And buy small bottles of body lotion.

More to come later.
Ciao.